Darnell Dockett signs four-year extension with Cardinals

by Kent Somers - Sept. 1, 2010 06:15 PMThe Arizona Republic

Placing labels on Darnell Dockett always has been a tricky proposition. He has lined up at end and tackle. He has spoken his mind on Twitter and accepted a dare to take a shower on the Internet. He has been an ultimate team player and a malcontent.

On Wednesday, Dockett said a new tag could be added: Cardinal for life.

Dockett, 29, signed a four-year extension that will keep him under contract through 2015, when he will be 34. The extension comes with two years left on his current contract and is worth $48 million in new money, including $30 million guaranteed, according to a source.

"I do want to retire an Arizona Cardinal," Dockett said. "I believe in this organization. I believe in the people we've got around us, that we're going to win a lot more titles and that we're going in the right direction. Y'all going to see me around longer than y'all probably thought."

Dockett had barely finished crossing the T's on his signature Wednesday before thinking about his next extension. His goal, his said, is to "outplay this contract."

This is Dockett's second extension and was two years in the making. Until this year, Dockett didn't hesitate to express his unhappiness with his contract. In 2009, he sat out minicamp because of a hamstring injury that coach Ken Whisenhunt compared to a seasonal allergy. Dockett also skipped all off-season workouts.

Cardinals management, meanwhile, was adamant about not extending any contract that had more than two years left.

This year, however, Dockett was a regular at off-season workouts. His goal, he said, was not to convince the Cardinals to pay him, but to keep his word to free agents he helped recruit, including outside linebacker Joey Porter.

"I made a commitment," Dockett said. "It wouldn't have made a lot of sense for me to sit here and go public and say, 'I want Joey Porter on our team,' call him every day, text him every day and then the first day of (practice), I don't show up. My word don't mean nothing, then."

But Dockett's commitment this off-season was important to Whisenhunt, General Manager Rod Graves and team President Michael Bidwill.

"I think his attitude . . . certainly inspired us to go ahead and try to see this thing through to completion," Graves said.

Dockett's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, credited the Cardinals for agreeing to a deal of this magnitude at a time when few NFL teams are spending big money because of the uncertainty of a labor agreement.

"This day was a few years in the making for sure," Rosenhaus said.

The Cardinals drafted Dockett out of Florida State in the third round in 2004. He has never missed a game, starting all but one. Over those six seasons, Dockett has missed only a handful of practices. He has made two Pro Bowls and tied a Super Bowl record with three sacks in Super Bowl XLIII.

Over the past three years, Dockett has developed a close relationship with Whisenhunt, although he has tested the coach's patience at times.

In 2007, Whisenhunt threatened to bench Dockett for drawing too many personal-foul penalties. This off-season, Whisenhunt expressed disappointment after Dockett showed himself showering via the Internet. Dockett later apologized.

"He's won me over with the way he's handled himself the last year and a half," Whisenhunt said, "with his preparation, his work with his teammates, what he's doing in the community. You know you can count on him, No. 1, and you know you can win with him."